1916 2016 remembering the battle of the somme · the somme and how it is being remembered a century...

1916 – 2016 Remembering the Battle of the Somme Teacher Resource Pack

Contents

• Introduction to the Battle of the Somme page 1

• Starter Activity page 2

• Further historical context for teachers page 3

• Timeline page 6

• Experiences of the Somme from around

the Commonwealth page 14

• Recruitment page 18

• Remembrance page 26

• Links and Additional Resources page 36

Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge the contribution of the following

in the production of this resource:

Big Ideas Company

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

First World War Centenary Battlefield Tours Programme

UCL Institute of Education

Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, United Service Institution of India

Alison Willmott

Every reasonable effort has been made to trace copyright holders and obtain permission from them.

The British Council has acted in good faith at all times and on the best information available to us at

the time of publication. Please contact the British Council if you own copyright in any material which

has been included inthis Teacher Resource Pack without your consent.

www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline

Introduction

The First World War was truly global in nature

with nearly 30 countries taking part and

fighting stretching from Northern France

through to Russia, the Middle East, Africa,

China, the Caribbean and South America.

One of the key theatres of war was the

Western Front where early inroads into

Belgium and Northern France by the German

Army were quickly halted by the Allied forces.

What began as a war of movement quickly

descended into stalemate with both sides

digging in to create lines of heavily fortified

trenches stretching from the Belgium coast

through to Switzerland. By early 1916 after

several major battles and heavy casualties

caused by nearly two years of attritional

warfare, there was still no sign of a

breakthrough for either side. This costly war

was dragging on for far longer than anyone

had anticipated back in the summer of 1914.

Men from every part of Britain and across the

British Empire fought as part of the British Army.

Both sides committed millions of men and huge

quantities of munitions to the struggle.

REMEMBERING THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME 1916 – 2016

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The Battle of the Somme can be broken

down into a series of hard-fought battles

remembered for the courage and sacrifice

of the battalions and regiments involved. In

the timeline you will find some of the battles,

such as Beaumont-Hamel or Poziers.

The Battle of the Somme came to an end

on the 18th November 1916. In 141 days of

fighting the British had lost 420,000 men, the

French lost nearly 200,000 men and the

Germans around 500,000. The Allied forces

had managed to advance a few miles at a

huge cost in lives.

Introduction to the pack

This education pack is designed to help

teachers introduce aspects of the Battle of

the Somme and how it is being remembered

a century later. It contains information and

resources to help pupils develop a deeper

knowledge and understanding of the conflict.

The materials are designed to be flexible and

adaptable in a variety of settings for pupils

aged 7-14. They can be used as starting

points for individual lessons or activities or

form part of a larger cross-curricular project

with a partner school overseas.

Ask your pupils what they already know or

think they know about the First World War

and if they have heard of The Battle of the

Somme which took place in 1916. Explain

that this was a long battle in which

thousands of soldiers lost their lives and

share with them some of the photographs

and extracts from poems and fiction about

the period such as Warhorse by

Michael Morpurgo.

For older students or those with greater

knowledge and understanding of the

period ask them to make mind maps

showing what they already know and words

they associate with the Somme campaign.

You could encourage them to add to this in

different colours as they learn more during

the topic.

Starter activity

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P A R I S

T H E S O M M E

L E H A V R E

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Further historical context for teachers

On 21st February 1916 German General Erich

von Falkenhayn launched a massive attack on

the French town of Verdun and its

surrounding forts. He was convinced that this

would at last lead to a decisive breakthrough.

So began the Battle of Verdun, one of the

largest battles of the First World War and one

that would last until 18th December 1916. Von

Falkenhayn was convinced that the French

would throw as many men as necessary into

the defence of Verdun which was located on

a key part of the Western Front. He realised

that this would enable him to inflict the

maximum possible casualties and fatally

weaken the French.

Although the Germans made territorial gains

in the early months of the battle these were

gradually halted by repeated French counter

attacks organised at the behest of General

Pétain. The turning point of the battle came in

July when the launch of the Allied offensive on

the Somme forced the Germans to divert new

troops away from Verdun.

The bitter fighting continued until

December when the Germans finally called

off their attack. The cost of the battle was

enormous with the Germans and the French

armies both suffering around 400,000

casualties but at least the French had avoided

what would have been a catastrophic defeat.

The Battle of the Somme, in which more than

1,000,000 men were wounded or killed, was

one of the bloodiest battles in history. It took

place between 1st July and 18th November

1916 in Northern France around the

River Somme.

French gunners manning a 105mm gun during an artillery barrage in the Verdun region.©IWM Q69619


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Initially planned as a large-scale joint British and

French offensive there were two main aims for

the battle. The first was to relieve the pressure

on the French Army now under serious attack

at Verdun. The second was to try and achieve a

breakout. After 18 months of trench stalemate

where neither side had looked like winning the

war, this was seen as a real chance for the ‘big

push’. However, many of the generals were

aware that this was now a war of attrition and

that a series of ‘bite and hold’ operations

designed to kill Germans was more realistic.

On the orders of Sir Douglas Haig, the

commander of the British Army, the battle

started with a weeklong artillery bombardment

of the German lines. Nearly 2 million shells were

fired at the Germans with the aim of completely

destroying their trenches. In fact, the Germans

had built deep dugouts for their men who were

therefore able to shelter in relative safety. When

the bombardment stopped, the Germans knew

that this meant that the British and French

armies were about to advance towards them.

All they had to do was to climb out of their

dugouts and man their machine guns and wait

for the enemy soldiers to come over the top.

Battle of the Ancre. British wounded at a Dressing Station. Aveluy Wood, 13 November 1916. ©IWM Q4506

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The first day of the Battle of the Somme,

1st July 1916, was the most disastrous the

British Army has ever suffered. The soldiers

advancing slowly over no-man’s land in long

lines, side by side, were told that the German

trenches had been destroyed. Instead they

were met with a hail of German machine gun

and artillery fire and huge numbers of

soldiers were quickly cut down. The surviving

attackers dived for cover and advanced

slowly from shell-hole to shell-hole.

Nearly all the attacks were defeated and

58,000 British and Empire troops, about half

of the force, fell in battle with nearly 20,000

dead. Many of the Pals Battalions were

decimated.

The Battle of the Somme continued for the

next few months with the Allies making slow

progress in pushing back the Germans. By

November, as winter set in and with both

sides exhausted, the battle ground to a halt.

Although the Germans were weakened, the

Allies failed to make a breakthrough and the

war was to continue for another two years.

By the end of the battle the British had lost

420,000 men, the French lost nearly 200,000

men and the Germans around 500,000. The

Allied forces had managed to advance a few

miles at a huge cost in lives.

100 years on, the Battle of the Somme

continues to loom large in the national

memory, not just in the UK but also in those

of many Commonwealth countries for whom

the sacrifices made had an equally profound

effect. Indeed, for some countries, the

losses suffered on the Somme and elsewhere

became the catalyst for the emergence of

a national identity, which led ultimately

to independence.

Tyneside Irish Brigade advancing near La Boiselle, Battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916.©IWM Q53

In the UK, large-scale recruitment to the Army

and the formation of battalions of volunteer

soldiers meant that virtually no part of the

country was left unscathed by the events of

July to November 1916. For many people the

Battle of the Somme, especially the disastrous

first day, brought home for the first time the

true horrors of warfare in the First World War

and was seen as a tragic waste of life. The

numerous memorials and military cemeteries

that lie across the Picardy countryside

continue to serve as a poignant reminder of

enormous sacrifices made in the summer and

autumn of 1916. Further south, at Verdun, the

remains of the French forts, the Douaumont

Ossuary, and the voie sacree keep alive

memories of the Western Front’s other great

battle of 1916.

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Timeline for the Battle of the Somme 1st July – 18th November 1916

Share the following timeline for the Battle

of the Somme with your students and

encourage them to add any of their own

pieces of research or questions about the

information or images with sticky notes to

explore later.The Battle of Albert was the first two

weeks of the Anglo-French offensive

in the Battle of the Somme. One of its

key aims was to relieve pressure on the

French at Verdun.

BATTLE OF ALBERT: 1ST – 13TH JULY 1916

This single day is remembered as the worst

in British military history. Nearly 20,000

died, including William Smurthwaite from

the 18th Battalion of the Durham Light

Infantry. The Battle of the Somme, however,

continued for 141 days during which many

more on all sides were injured or died.

BATTLE OF THE SOMME COMMENCES: 1ST JULY 1916

Explosion of the mine beneath Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt, the Somme, on 1st July 1916.© IWM Q754

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Curriculum links: History,

English, Personal, Social and

Health Education

Core skills: Communication

and collaboration, Critical

thinking and problem solving

Learning objectives: To

encourage pupils to find out

about the events and

chronology of the Battle of

the Somme, to ask historical

questions and use

original sources.

On the 14th July the British

Army carried out a successful

attack on the German second

line in the area of Bazentin.

Most of the objectives were

captured but the opportunity

to move further on and take

High Wood was lost due to

communication failures and

disorganisation.

BATTLE OF BAZENTIN RIDGE: 14TH – 17TH JULY 1916

20TH JULY The writer Robert

Graves was so severely

wounded during battle his

family was told he had died.

Graves survived to write a

best selling account of the

war Goodbye to all that.

This was the first large-scale Australian

battle in France. German bombardments

and tenacious counter-attacks attack

meant that Allied success in capturing the

Pozières Ridge was only achieved at a very

high cost with the Australians suffering

around 23,000 casualties.

24TH – 26TH AUGUST The writer JRR Tolkien

reached the trenches at Thiepval Wood. He

saw action at the Somme until he reported sick

at the end of October.

BATTLE OF POZIÈRES RIDGE: 23RD – 7TH AUGUST 1916

Battle of Bazentin Ridge. Joyful British troops in captured German dugouts at Mametz. ©IWM Q3977

The task of capturing Delville

Wood was handed to the

South African Brigade of some

3,150 men. Fierce fighting led

to huge casualties on both

sides. When relieved on the

19th July, the South Africans

had lost 2,536 men and it took

another month before the

wood was finally taken.

Australian soldiers load a trench mortar at Pozières Ridge©IWM Q4092


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The old British front line trenches during the Battle of the Somme at Delville Wood, 3 July 1917. ©IWM Q80269

BATTLE OF DELVILLE WOOD: 14TH JULY – 15TH SEPTEMBER 1916

AZENTIN RIDGE:

9TH SEPTEMBER Death of Major Cedric Charles Dickens,

the grandson of the author Charles Dickens. He died aged 27

and is named on the Thiepval Memorial.

The Battle of Flers–Courcelette was

the first time that tanks were used in

battle though with mixed results due

to there being too few in number and

mechanically unreliable.

15TH SEPTEMBER

Death of Lieutenant

Raymond Asquith the

son of the Prime Minister

Herbert Asquith. He is

buried at Guillemont

Road Cemetery

The heavily fortified village of

Guillemont, which lies towards

the southern end of the

British sector of the Somme

battlefield, was finally taken on

the 6th September.

BATTLE OF GUILLEMONT: 3RD – 6TH SEPEMBER 1916

The Battle of Morval led to infantry

advances on German lines.

BATTLE OF MORVAL: 25TH – 28TH SEPTEMBER 1916

The Battle of Morval. Supporting troops scramble out of their trenches. ©IWM Q1309

Battle of Ginchy. Supporting infantry walk forward up the slope into the bombardment. ©IWM Q1306

BATTLE OF GINCHY: 9TH SEPTEMBER 1916

The Battle of Ginchy was

the main offensive planned

for September, namely the

Battle of Flers–Courcelette.

The village was captured

in a single day.

Timeline for the Battle of the Somme 1st July – 18th November 1916

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BATTLE OF FLERS-COURCELETTE: 15TH – 22ND SEPTEMBER 1916

A British Tank on the Somme. ©IWM Q2486

The Battle of Thiepval Ridge was

the first large offensive mounted

in the northern part of the Somme

battlefield since early July.

BATTLE OF THIEPVAL RIDGE: 26TH – 28TH SEPTEMBER 1916

The Battle of Le Transloy Ridges took

place in increasingly bad weather. The

mud and freezing weather led to several

pauses in operations and eventually in

scaling them down altogether. ‘We live in a

world of Somme mud. We sleep in it, work

in it, wade in it and many of us die in it.

We see it, feel it, eat it and curse it, but we

can’t escape it.’ Edward Lynch.

Now that the village of Thiepval had

fallen, the Germans no longer had

dominating positions overlooking the

valley of the River Ancre nearby. The

British attacked this part of the Somme

battlefield though fierce German

resistance and bad weather slowed

their progress.

BATTLE OF ANCRE HEIGHTS: 1ST OCTOBER – 11TH NOVEMBER 1916

BATTLE OF LE TRANSLOY RIDGES: 1ST OCTOBER – 11TH NOVEMBER 1916

As freezing conditions set in, the Battle of the

Somme came to a close. In 141 days of fighting the

British had lost 420,000 men, the French lost nearly

200,000 men and the Germans around 500,000.

The Allied forces had managed to advance a few

miles at a huge cost in lives. 1,800 people died in

France on the last day of the Somme.

BATTLE OF THE SOMME ENDS: 18TH NOVEMBER 1916

Bad weather, Battle of the Somme 1916.©IWM Q1495

The Battle of the Ancre was the

last Allied operation on the Somme

in 1916. Despite some successes

with villages such as Beaumont

Hamel, Beaucourt-sur-l’Ancre being

captured, heavy casualties and the

oncoming winter weather meant

that the battle was eventually

called off.

BATTLE OF ANCRE: 13TH – 18TH NOVEMBER 1916

British military policeman brings in a wounded German prisoner during the Battle of Ancre. ©IWM Q4502


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Column of the 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders marching to the trenches. ©IWM Q1393

Photographs are very evocative and useful

sources of evidence about this period of

history. Give your students copies of the

photographs on the activity sheets and

questions to discuss in groups, before

reporting their thoughts and observations

back to the rest of the class.

You might also go on to use the photographs

as a stimulus for creative writing.

Look closely at the photograph and discuss

the following points and questions:

• Describe what you can see in the

photograph. List as many details as

you can.

• Where do you think it was taken? What

evidence do you have to support your

views?

• Who do you think is in the photograph?

What do you think the people in it are

thinking? What might have happened

before and after it was taken?

• Discuss who might have taken this

photograph and why?

• What questions would you like to ask the

people in the photograph?

• What can photographs tell us about the

battle that written descriptions cannot?

Activity sheet

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Column of the 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders marching to the trenches. ©IWM Q1393


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Activity sheet

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Look carefully at the picture opposite and answer the following questions

• What can I see?

• What can I infer?

• What other questions can I ask?


13Indian bicycle troops at a crossroads on the Fricourt-Mametz Road, Somme, France. ©IWM Q3983

Experiences of the Somme from around the Commonwealth

Fighting alongside the British on the Somme

were soldiers from all over the British

Empire including Newfoundland, Canada,

South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

These Dominions raised their own armies.

Newfoundland

In 1914, Newfoundland – now part of

Canada – was a small Dominion within the

British Empire and had never had an army.

At the start of the First World War a

Newfoundland Regiment was raised which

took part in the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915.

In July 1916, 801 men of the Newfoundland

Regiment were deployed on the first day of

the Somme. The Newfoundlanders were sent

into No Man’s Land at Beaumont Hamel in the

second wave of attack, which took place at

around 8.45am.

By this time, the experienced German forces

opposite were fully prepared for the infantry

and had found the most deadly places to aim

their machine guns: the gaps between the

barbed wire.

The Newfoundland regiment attack lasted

less than 30 minutes.

Private James McGrath, who was wounded

several times during the attack succeeded in

crawling back to the allied trenches. It took

him more than 17 hours. Private McGrath told

the Newfoundland Quarterly, ‘The Germans

actually mowed us down like sheep.’

On 2nd July, only 68 of 801 men were fit

for duty.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

state that ‘On the first day of the Battle of the

Somme, no unit suffered heavier losses than

the Newfoundland Regiment which had gone

into action 801 strong. The roll call the next

day revealed that the final figures were 233

killed or dead of wounds, 386 wounded, and

91 missing.’

The impact of these losses was devastating

to the town of St John’s where hundreds of

families received news of their sons, brothers,

husbands and friends deaths. Some families

received news of the deaths of more than

one as several brothers’ died together during

the attack. It is remembered as the loss of

a generation.

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English, Citizenship


and collaboration, Digital

Literacy, Global citizenship

Learning objectives: To learn about the role of

Commonwealth soldiers in the

Somme campaign and its

effects on their communities

and countries.

The tragedy of the Newfoundland Regiment

was marked by Sir Douglas Haig, Commander-

in-Chief of the British Forces letter paying

tribute to the courage of the soldiers was

published in their local newspaper The

Evening Telegram on July 21, 1916:

The people of Newfoundland still remember

the Battle of Beaumont Hamel. To this day,

1st July is marked as Memorial Day in

Newfoundland.

Read more about the Newfoundland

Regiment’s experience and find links to further

articles: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.

ca/en/article/battle-of-beaumont-hamel/

Lance Corporal Arthur James Rendell 204. Unit: 1st Battalion, Newfoundland Regiment, Canadian Expeditionary Force. Death: 1st July 1916 Somme Western Front. ©IWM HU124846

The Caribou Memorial at Beaumont Hamel on the Somme.


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http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-of-beaumont-hamel/

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-of-beaumont-hamel/

India

The Indian Army had arrived in France very

early in the war, in the autumn of 1914 to

provide much needed reinforcements to the

British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.).

The Indian infantry had helped the B.E.F. stem

the tide of the German advance toward the

channel ports and was withdrawn from the

Western Front in late 1915. However, the

Indian Cavalry Corps (I.C.C.) remained in

France till 1918 and took part in several

battles between late 1916 and 1918 including

the Somme offensive.

The First World War saw the end of the cavalry

charge in battle. This was the first industrialised

modern war and indeed it was at the Battle of

the Somme that the first tank was used.

The men of the Indian Cavalry Corps were

primarily engaged in patrolling duties and

helped relay invaluable intelligence about the

enemy on numerous occasions. They also

assisted the infantry in digging and wiring

trenches.

There were a few occasions when the mounted

cavalry managed to break through on horses

but these were mostly small isolated incidents.

Of these, the most notable took place on 14 /15

July when 20th Deccan horse and the British

7th Dragoon Guards charged together. The

34th Poona Horse was held in reserve. Indians

and British suffered more than 100 casualties

and 130 horses were killed.

Indian soldiers initially wore turbans into battle.

The ‘tin hats’ or steel helmets were first

introduced to the Indian cavalry in 1916. The

Sikhs, however, at once refused to wear them,

and continued to wear their turbans

throughout the war.

Experiences of the Somme from around the Commonwealth

A group of Indian soldiers, possibly soldiers of the 9th Hodson’s Horse (wearing just shirts and trousers), stand round the improvised cookhouse at an Indian cavalry camp near Querrieu whilst two seated cooks prepare some food. Indian Cavalry Camp. 29 July 1916. ©IWM Q4072

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Group of Indian Cavalry dismounted near Fricourt, July 1916. ©IWM Q1064

Research Activities

Encourage your pupils to come up with their

own research questions or topics to

investigate how their own country or

community was affected by the Battle of the

Somme. They may decide to try and find out

more about the lives of people who lived

locally at the time and appear in

photographs, newspaper cuttings or on a war

memorial. Alternatively, they could investigate

aspects of social history such as the role of

local women or industries in the war effort.

The next stage of research would involve

consulting other sources including books, the

Internet and perhaps visiting local museums

and libraries with access to local records,

diaries, newspaper cuttings and census

returns. National Archives in many countries

also hold war records and other information

that can be accessed online.

The British Prime Minister Lloyd George

described the Battle of the Somme as, ‘The

most gigantic, tenacious, grim, futile and

bloody battle ever waged in the history of

war.’ Ask older students to find out why the

first day of the battle turned out to be the

most disasterous day in the history of the

British Army.


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The 20th Deccan Horse, Indian Army, in the Carnoy Valley shortly before their unsuccessful attack at High Wood during the Somme offensive, 14 July 1916. ©IWM Q823

Conscription to the British army was not

introduced until 1916; so British troops at the

Battle of the Somme included pre-war regular

soldiers, territorials and tens of thousands

of volunteers who joined up in response

to a powerful recruitment campaign led by

Lord Kitchener. The War Propaganda Bureau

was created in 1914 to encourage men to

enlist and called upon the skills of writers

such as Thomas Hardy and H G Wells, along

with techniques employed by artists and the

newspaper and advertising industries.

Popular music hall artists of the time also

devoted their skills to the cause. Harry

Lauder who was a famous singer and

entertainer toured music halls, recruiting

Recruitment

uniform by women to shame them into joining

the army. However there are many stories of

women putting a feather in a man’s coat who

had been honourably discharged for injuries

or who were home on leave or working in

important industries .

Activity

Divide the class into small groups and give

each group copies of some or all of the

recruitment posters on the activity sheets.

Ask the students to study the sources

carefully and discuss the points and

questions on the sheets with their group.

Encourage your students to develop their

own questions too and then choose one

poster and write a detailed description of

what they see. What message and values are

portrayed through the image and text? Is it

encouraging volunteering through a sense of

duty, patriotism, bravery, fear or other

emotions? Who is it aimed at? Compare the

British recruitment posters with those from

France and Germany? What similarities and

differences can you see between them?

young soldiers on stage in front of the

audience, sometimes offering money for the

first recruit of the night.

Many of these volunteers joined ‘Pals’

battalions, which were drawn from local

communities, sports clubs and places of

work. They formed very close bonds serving

alongside relatives, friends and workmates

from their local area. They joined up together,

trained together and were now to fight

together. This initiative was encouraged by

politicians such as Lord Derby, who

organised one of the most successful

recruitment campaigns in Liverpool. Over

two days, 1500 Liverpudlians joined the new

battalion. Speaking to the men he said: ‘This

should be a battalion of pals, a battalion in

which friends from the same office will fight

shoulder to shoulder for the honour of Britain

and the credit of Liverpool.’

The White Feather movement was another

propaganda campaign to encourage men

to enlist. White feathers seen as a symbol of

cowardice were given to men not in

1818


English, Art and Design


and collaboration, critical

thinking and problem solving,

Digital literacy

Learning objectives: To analyse a range of

evidence about how soldiers

were recruited in the First

World War and learn about the

role of the Pals Battalions in

the Battle of the Somme.

Activity Sheet: First World War Recruitment Posters from the Imperial War Museum collection

Women and children were frequently

depicted in recruitment posters.

This image was designed by Robert

Baden Powell who set up the Scouting

movement.

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Many recruits were initially rejected on

account of their poor teeth but this was not

an issue for the cycling regiment! This Australian poster plays on the

country’s sporting pride and also makes

reference to Sir Henry Newbolt’s famous

patriotic poem Vita Lampada.

Activity Sheet: First World War Recruitment Posters from the Imperial War Museum collection

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• Who do you think the posters are aimed at

and what message are they conveying?

• Describe the language, layout, and use of

images. How do they use these features to

appeal to the reader’s values and emotions?

• Which do you think is the most persuasive

poster? Give your reasons.

• What can you learn about the recruitment

campaign from these sources?

• Do you think these posters would still be

effective today? State your reasons.

On the morning of 16 December 1914,

the German Fleet bombed the ports of

Hartlepool, West Hartlepool, Whitby and

Scarborough. 137 people lost their lives

and 592 people were wounded.

This poster states that all men

5ft 2 inches and over who are medically

fit and between the ages of 19-40 are

encouraged to join the army. The lowest

rate of pay is given as 7 shillings a week

with 1 and a half pence deducted for

insurance. Food, clothing, lodging and

medical attendance provided free.


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Activity

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Look at this recruitment poster from 1915

in detail.

• Describe all the people and what they are

doing. Why do you think they are included

in the design?

• What do you notice about the colours and

the typeface that are used?

• What might be significant about the fact

that Robert Baden Powell created it?

• Who do you think it was aimed at and what

message was it trying to convey?

• Why do you think the designer has

included the Union flag?

©IW

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Activity


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Look at these recruitment posters from the

French and German armies.

• What similarities and differences can

you see in the styles and aims of the

posters?

French poster, translation reads: ‘For the flag.

For the Victory!’

German poster, translation reads: ‘This is

how it would look in German lands if the

French reached the Rhine.’

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When war broke out in 1914 a number of

towns across Britain asked for permission to

recruit their own Battalions where men from

the same town, the same street and in some

cases, the same football team, were able to

join together and serve alongside each other.

Recruitment to these Pals Battalions was very

successful and was a source of local pride.

They became part of a local regiment so

the men from Accrington and other towns in

north and east Lancashire became the 11th

Battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment.

These soldiers were all part of General

Kitchener’s ‘New Army’.

The Battle of the Somme was the first

experience of fighting for many of the Pals

battalions and they received very heavy

casualties. In some instances a town lost

most of its military-aged menfolk in a single

day. This had a devastating effect on their

communities back in Britain. A notable

example was the Accrington Pals battalion

from Lancashire. Approximately 700 men

took part in the attack and suffered

devastating losses on the first day of the

Battle when 235 men were killed and 350

wounded within the space of twenty minutes.

The Pals Battalions and the Battle of the Somme

Private Robert Jackson 17972. Unit: X Company, 11th Battalion (Accrington Pals), East Lancashire Regiment. Death: 1st July 1916 Western Front. ©IWM HU116260

24

The losses were very hard on the community

back in Lancashire where nearly everyone

had a relative or friend who was killed or

wounded. This was explored in a play by

Peter Whelan in 1981 called The Accrington

Pals which contrasts life at the front in 1916

with that of the women left at home adjusting

to life without their fathers, husbands,

brothers and friends.

Activity

Ask your students to find out more about the

Pals Battalions in your area and life on the

home front for women in your country during

this period. You could ask your local

museum for more information. You can find

out about the life of one particular soldier,

William Smurthwaite, in the 18th Battalion of

the Durham Light Infantry by going to the

online resources at: https://schoolsonline.

britishcouncil.org/classroom-resources/list/

somme-1916-2016

https://schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org/classroom-resources/list/somme-1916-2016



Conscription


The Battle of the Somme marked a turning

point in the Pals battalions. Many were

disbanded or amalgamated after 1916.

Others kept their names until the end of the

war but relied on conscripted men rather

than those with local links.

The Military Service Act of 1916 introduced

compulsory conscription to Great Britain

for the first time after the heavy losses of

the Battle of the Somme. The Act specified

that men from 18 to 41 years old were to be

called up for service in the army unless they

were married, widowed with children, serving

in the Royal Navy, a minister of religion, or

working in a reserved occupation.

Those men who refused to fight and were not

prepared to take up arms whatever the

penalty were called conscientious objectors.

Most of these men were pacifists or of a

religious faith who believed that even during

wartime it was wrong to kill another person.

The usual procedure for a Conscientious

Objector was to apply to his local tribunal for

exemption from military service. They were

treated harshly and often sent for court

martial and imprisonment under sentence

of hard labour. About 7,000 pacifists agreed

to perform non-combat service. This usually

involved working as stretcher-bearers in the

front-line of battle for organisations such as

the Friends Ambulance Unit. There was a very

high casualty rate and many men were killed

while demonstrating considerable courage

under fire.

Fred Fawcett was a conscientious objector

from County Durham. He was a Methodist

and was jailed after his Tribunal. He was later

released from prison to join the Friends

Ambulance Unit.

Activity

You can see a copy of his personnel card

above. Ask your students to find out what they

can about him from this card and then carry

out further research about the role of

stretcher-bearers at the Battle of the Somme.

What other information would they like to

know about Fred and why he became a

member of the Friends Ambulance Unit?

Image courtesy of Beamish, The Living

Museum of the North and Friends

Ambulance Unit Records

British soldiers advance during a smoke attack. ©IWM Q69586

25

Missing casualties

Those who died during the Battle of the

Somme are commemorated or buried in

hundreds of cemeteries and memorials in the

region. There are some 150 specially

constructed Commonwealth War Graves

Commission (CWGC) cemeteries with other

burials at 250 additional locations, such as

town cemeteries or graveyards.

The bodies of many soldiers who died during

the battle were never recovered. This is often

the case in the chaos of war, but the numbers

of missing during the First World War were far

greater than had been seen before.

There are several reasons why soldiers went

missing. It could be that they were killed in a

large explosion and were buried by the

upheaval of earth, or that the force of the

shell might have destroyed their bodies.

First World War soldiers wore identity

tags so that they could be identified if

they were killed or indeed wounded.

The tag might become lost. During

weeks of battle, temporary cemeteries

near the frontline could be overrun by

the enemy, or perhaps shelled so that

the bodies of soldiers who had been

buried were subsequently lost.

Many thousands of Somme soldiers were

declared missing. When a soldier’s body

is lost, their loss is commemorated on a

memorial on which their name is carved.

For example, the names of those from

the Newfoundlanders Regiment who

have no known grave are listed on the

Beaumont Hamel Memorial. This

memorial also commemorates other

Newfoundlanders lost in the First World

War. More than 800 missing men

are named.

Remembrance

Thiepval Memorial, France. Commonwealth War Graves Commission

26

First World War identity tags – made out of asbestos. ©IWM UNI12250


English, Personal Social and

Health Education,Citizenship,

Design and Technology.


and collaboration, critical

thinking and problem solving,

Student leadership, Global

citizenship and civic

responsibility

Learning objectives: To carry out investigations into

local casualties from the Battle

of the Somme and carry out

remembrance and

commemoration activities.

Commemoration of the Battle of the Somme

centres on the Commonwealth War Graves

Commission’s Thiepval Memorial. The Thiepval

Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears

the names of more than 72,000 officers and

men of the United Kingdom and South African

forces who died in the Somme sector before

20 March 1918 and have no known grave.

Over 90% of those commemorated died

between July and November 1916. The

memorial also serves as an Anglo-French

Battle Memorial in recognition of the joint

nature of the 1916 offensive and a small

cemetery containing equal numbers of

Commonwealth and French graves lies at

the foot of the memorial. The memorial,

designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, was built

between 1928 and 1932.

Although the Battle of the Somme took place

a century ago, the bodies of soldiers are still

being recovered from the battlefields. In some

cases they can be identified. Occasionally

names are removed from the Theipval

Memorial when a soldier who was missing is

buried and has their own headstone.

In 2014, the local press in Newcastle reported

on the ‘Search for relatives of First World War

Soldier’. The remains of Sergeant David

Harkness Blakey from Felling in Gateshead were

discovered when a road in Thiepval was

widened. He had been reported missing on the

1st July 1916 and was posthumously awarded

the Military Medal for bravery in the field in

December 1916.

Thiepval Memorial


27

The practice of non-repatriation of the dead

which was established during the First World

War meant that Commonwealth servicemen

and women who died on active service

abroad, were buried abroad.

The Commission is founded on principles of

equality, respect and honour and believes

that everyone who lost their lives should be

remembered equally regardless of race, rank

or creed. Sir Frederic Kenyon wrote in 1918,

‘what was done for one should be done for

all, and that all, whatever their military rank or

position in civil life, should have equal

treatment in their graves.’ Therefore all CWGC

headstones are identical in terms of their

style and there is no distinction made for

rank, race or creed. However, there are

interesting differences which you can learn

about here.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone

National Emblem or Regimental BadgeMany graves feature a design which

represents a national emblem or

regimental badge. Originally the

headstones were carved by hand, now

all headstones are made by computer

aided machinery in the CWGC

workshop in France.

Details of the individualHeadstones will normally include

military number, name, rank, military

awards, regiment, date and age

of death.

Personal inscriptionGraves were made more individual through a

personal inscription. With a limit of 66 letters

the words chosen were often lines from a

prayer or a simple message to a loved one.

28

Religious emblemMost CWGC headstones include a religious

icon. On joining the military services,

recruits would state their religion. The

religious faith would then be represented

on the headstone. In addition, where

possible those of the Muslim faith were

buried facing Mecca. Hindu soldiers were

cremated and in special circumstances

buried.

Living Memory – 141 days of the Somme

A century on, the movement to remember

the sacrifice made by so many is being led by

the Commonwealth War Graves Commission

(CWGC) through the Living Memory Project.

Wherever you are in the world you can

search for your nearest First World War or

Second World War graves or memorials

managed by CWGC by downloading the free

CWGC App or by visiting the CWGC website

www.cwgc.org .


29No faith HinduIslamic JewishSikh

http://www.cwgc.org

Living Memory Remembrance ActivitiesChoose someone to remember

Remembering all those buried in CWGC war

graves is a fitting way to mark the Centenary

of the Battle of the Somme. There are

300,000 CWGC war graves and memorials in

the UK. Many lie in hidden corners of

cemeteries and local communities are often

unaware of their existence. If you visit one of

the war graves you could choose an

individual grave to focus your remembrance

activity on.

You may make your selection because you

are struck by the age of the soldier or

perhaps you are surprised by what you find.

For example, there are some war graves for

women who served in the First World War. For

help with finding a date that connects your

local community to the Battle of the Somme

email [email protected]

Many soldiers injured at the Somme were

brought back to the British Isles to be treated

in hospitals. Some then died of their wounds

and are either buried in cemeteries used by

the hospitals or were returned for family

burials. You may find that Somme casualties

are buried in your local cemetery but you’ll

need to do some investigating.

Visiting Cemeteries

1. Some locations can be very large and

finding particular graves can be more

challenging. In the UK, CWGC headstones are

often grouped together and can be found

more easily although graves are sometimes

scattered.

2. Some are buried in family graves and will

not have the distinctive CWGC headstone so

may be harder to locate.

3. You will need to consider that the war

graves may well be in a cemetery that is still

operational with regular activity including

funerals. Out of respect for others visiting

the cemetery and those buried there, please

observe appropriate behaviour.

4. When visiting in a large group it is best to

let the local cemetery manager know that

you are visiting.

5. Cemeteries can be quiet places with few

visitors on any one day so it is advisable to

visit in a group.

6. Keep to the paths. Caution should always

be taken as the ground around graves can be

uneven and old gravestones can sometimes

be unsteady.

7. Whilst cemeteries are a place for

remembrance they are also a space for

discovery and exploration so please have a

go at one of the Living Memory activities.

30

Digital archives and detective work can

lead to photographs and newspaper

stories, even diaries and letters, building

to a powerful and moving remembrance

of an individual. For others, however,

there is very little known.

Living Memory Activities

Living Memory Activity One: Find the graves

Once you have found a local cemetery visit the

CWGC website and download the full list of First

World War casualties buried there. You could

then divide up the list and give students the

task of each finding a soldier’s grave.

Ask students to note down the dates of birth

and death of those they have discovered, to

work out their ages. As a group calculate the

average age of the war casualties in your

cemetery. If you need help finding your nearest

cemetery email [email protected]

Living Memory Activity Two: Make rubbings of the headstones

Take some large sheets of paper to the

cemetery and use thick wax crayons to

carefully take a rubbing of the headstone.

Take time to note the different markings

and symbols on the headstone.

* Please take care not to mark the

headstones. Before you start make sure the

headstones are secure. Do not to lean too

heavily on the headstones.

On your return, you could display these on

the walls to remember the cemetery in your

venue and share your experience with

others that weren’t able to join you.


31

Living Memory Activity Three: Lay Flowers

Grow your own flowers to lay at your local

war graves.

There is a long tradition of laying flowers on

graves as a tribute and act of remembrance.

In the UK we are used to floral wreaths and

the poppy wreaths which are laid at

Remembrance time but this project

encourages you to grow flowering plants

from seeds and lay simple floral tributes. If

you don’t have time to grow flowers you can

otherwise buy them.

The Commissions’ cemeteries are planted

with mostly perennial plants, which are left in

place, and cared for rather than using plants,

which are grown from seed. However, when

the cemeteries were first created, soldiers

collected and sowed seeds in the burial

places before they were formally laid out and

therefore sowing seeds for flowering plants

has a very strong connection to the

battlefields of the Great War. The Commission

is famous for it’s beautiful horticulture around

the world.

You can grow flowers outdoors in a planter

or flowerbed. Annuals are a good type to go

for, as they will flower throughout the summer

and autumn. This includes flowers such as

pot marigolds (widely used in India for

garlands) love-in-a-mist, cornflowers (French

remembrance flower because they are known

as ‘bluets’ for the blue soldiers’ uniforms) &

godeti. They can be grown from seed without

any special skill.

The flowers that are most associated with the

battlefields in Britain are the corn poppies

(Papaver hoeas) as well as other varieties of

poppies, which can be easily grown in a wide

range of colours although they wilt quickly

when picked. The poppy became a flower of

remembrance because of Canadian doctor

John McRae’s haunting poem, In Flanders

Fields. Poppies like to grow in disturbed earth

and so the new cemeteries were filled.

Living Memory Activity Four: Public Speaking

Whilst visiting some of your local war graves

you could take the opportunity to say a few

words to acknowledge your visit. You could

read a poem, read a letter, or encourage

members of your group to share their

thoughts and messages of remembrance at

the graveside. Ask your pupils to choose a

poem from a selection you could look at

before your visit.


Remembrance flowersForget-me-not in Germany, cornflowers in France and poppies in Britain.

32

Living Memory Activity Five: Designing a war memorial

Look at images of different types of war

memorials from a variety of countries and

conflicts. Discuss why memorials and events

such as Remembrance Day are important.

If you have a war memorial close to your

school, try and arrange a visit to study it in

detail. Examine the names and the dates of

those who are remembered on it from The

Battle of the Somme.

Children at one London Primary School

visited and examined a variety of war

memorials in the city before designing and

making their own. One pair chose to make a

commemorative sculpture in the shape of a

telescope. They wrote, ‘Our sculpture

represents the future and peace. It is in the

shape of a telescope because it is all about

looking for peace in the future. We chose

the design because we thought it would be

a great sculpture. Our colours are red and

light blue because we wanted to make it eye

catching. When people see it we want them

to feel hopeful about the future.’

Living Memory Activity Six: Hold an assembly or public presentation

Share some of your research alongside images,

drawings, headstone rubbings and poems from

your visit to your local cemetery. Make a digital

presentation to share some of your key findings

and tell others how they too can find and visit

war graves nearby. If you have a partner school

you can exchange your research and follow-up

work with them.


War Memorial, Newtownards, Co. Down, N. Ireland.


33

Shepperton War Memorial, Middlesex. ©IWM Q47891

Bracknell War Memorial, Berkshire. ©IWM Q47890

Living Memory Case Study – Kingsweston School, Bristol

Kingsweston School is a specialist centre for

young people with autism in Bristol. Students

and staff visited their local graves in

Shirehampton in November 2015 and

followed the steps to search for First World

War casualties using the CWGC database.

The students then used large sheets of paper

to make headstone rubbings, which were

displayed, throughout the corridors of their

school on Armistice Day. The students were

also encouraged to make short speeches at

the graves to develop their public speaking

skills. Several of the children asked to go

back and leave a message at the grave of

their soldier, just like they would with a

relative. ‘Can we go back when it’s his

birthday?’ or ‘Can we go back on the date of

his death?’ They also created a remembrance

tree on a school corridor wall, which

contained small leaves for students to write

their thoughts and comments after their visit

to Shirehampton Cemetery.


34

Living Memory Case Study – Manchester Academy

Students from Manchester Academy visited

some of the 1200 war graves in Manchester

Southern Cemetery and spent several hours

making rubbings of the markings on the

headstones, and drawing and taking pictures

of the cemetery and headstones. On their

return to school they then turned these

images into prints, which were displayed,

around the school on digital displays to mark

Armistice Day.


35

Find Out More

• Commonwealth War Graves Commission

www.cwgc.org

• First World War Centenary Battlefields Tour

http://www.centenarybattlefieldtours.org

• Imperial War Museum First World War

Centenary

http://www.iwm.org.uk/centenary

• Lives of the First World War

https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org

• BBC Schools: World War One

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/0/ww1/

• BBC History: World War One

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww1

• War Memorials Trust

www.warmemorials.org

• The Accrington Pals is a 1981 play by Peter

Whelan. Other fiction about the period

includes Private Peaceful by Michael

Morpurgo, Line of Fire: Diary of an

Unknown Soldier (August – September

1914) A graphic novel by Barroux and

The Great War: stories inspired by objects

from the First World War 1914-1918

published by Walker

• The Living Memory project provides

more information on visiting war graves

and finding Somme casualties in the UK.

In 2016 CWGC are offering funding and

support to schools and community groups

across the UK to mark the 141-day period

of the Somme Centenary from the 1st July

– 18th November 2016. www.cwgc.org

email [email protected]

• If you are interested in visiting the Somme

battlefield sites and are a state funded

secondary school why not sign up for your

free places on the award winning DfE/

DCLG funded First World War Centenary

Battlefield Tours Programme.

Visit www.centenarybattlefieldtours.org/ to

find out more

• Use our British Council Schools Online

partner finding tool to link up with schools

in France and around the World

http://bit.ly/1TnkJaG

• A good source for First World War poetry is In Time of War edited by Anne

Harvey Puffin Teenage Poetry

Become a Commonwealth War Graves Champion

We hope you will have discovered more

about your local war graves, the men and

women buried there, and are able to share

this with friends, family and others where

you live. Your actions mean that they will

not be forgotten.

Schools and communities are being asked to

champion these war graves; lay flowers, tell

friends and families, tell other local schools

and community groups.

Be part of re-connecting your community to

these men and women.

To mark your commitment, we are awarding

Commonwealth War Graves Champion

certificates to participants. To request your

e-certificate email [email protected]

36

https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww1

http://www.cwgc.org

http://www.centenarybattlefieldtours.org/

mailto:[email protected]

British Council

10 Spring Gardens

London SW1A 2BN

© British Council 2016The British Council is the United Kingdom’s

international organisation for cultural relations

and educational opportunities.

[email protected]

www.britishcouncil.org/schoolsonline

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1916 2016 remembering the battle of the somme · the somme and how it is being remembered a century...

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